Durbin visits Job Corps

JOLIET -- It was all about the dough when U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, arrived at the Joliet Job Corps Center on Mills Road.

Under director of Chef Instructor Nicolas Daloia, culinary arts students prepared a breakfast buffet for guests who included state Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-Joliet; County Executive Larry Walsh; Rodney Butler of Adams & Associates, contractor for the Joliet center; and Donna Kay and Soo Jong from the Chicago office of Job Corps Region 5.

Fresh basil from the center's organic garden was used in the quiche, and the stuffed French toast was, as one coordinator put it, "to die for."

Durbin spoke privately to Daloia about the value of community colleges over private schools in further training future chefs.

He also publicly cautioned students not to believe in "I'm going to college in my pajamas" ads because they are often misleading.

Pell Grants, he explained, are loans, not a gift, and payments that sound so easy will plague many students for their entire lives.

The center was able to show off its new paved roads and parking lots, paid for with recovery act funding, and its two wind turbines and three electric carts.